EU-DIGEST

For the complete report from Radio Netherlands click on this linkRomania: Social Democrats win Romanian elections

The Romanian parliamentary elections have been won by the Social Democratic opposition party PSD. Voters cast their ballots for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The PSD has taken about 35 percent of the seats in both houses of parliament. President Traian Basescu's conservative PDL-L party won about 31 percent of the votes; Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu's ruling Liberal Democratic PNL party won 20 percent. Observers say the formation of a coalition government could be a long and difficult process. Romania, which joined the European Union in 2007, has been hit hard by the financial crisis and tens of thousands of people could lose their jobs. During the election campaign, the Social Democrats tried to capitalise on these problems by promising tax cuts and benefits for the poor.

Labels: Elections, EU, Romania

Czech Republic holds Senate runoff elections

Partial results from Czech elections to fill almost one-third of the Senate indicate Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's party will lose its majority in the upper house. Results from more than half of polling stations show the opposition Social Democrats leading second-round elections for 22 of the 26 seats up for grabs in the 81-seat Senate. The opposition party had campaigned on criticism of the government's plans for placing a U.S. missile defense radar base in the country.

Labels: Czech Republic, Elections, EU, Missile Crises

No change for Canada

IT IS an emphatic victory, even if the ruling party has failed, again, to secure a majority in parliament. Results from the general election held on Tuesday October 14th suggest that the Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, have secured 143 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, a gain of 16 seats. The Liberal Party, led by Stéphane Dion, has suffered a serious defeat, picking up just 76 seats. Not everything has gone to plan for Mr Harper. Conventional wisdom in Canada suggests that no party can form a majority government without a strong showing in the French-speaking province of Quebec. His assiduous courting of Quebeckers since he took office in January 2006 produced no results. He learned to speak French passably, declared them a nation and gave the province a special seat at international gatherings. Despite those efforts, the big gains he envisaged did not materialize.

Some pundits are predicting that the new government will not last long. For weary Canadians, who have now voted three times in less than five years, the prospect of another election would be unwelcome. The only consolation is that tight restrictions on both political contributions and spending mean that general elections cost a pittance compared with those next door USA.

Labels: Canada, Elections

Labels: Elections, EU, Obama, US

US Pres. Elections - Obama and Biden To Start Campaigning in Springfield Illinois today - by Philip Fernando

It’s final. Barrack Obama and Joe Biden will head the Democratic Party ticket at the presidential election. Obama used the vice-presidential announcement to extend until the very last minute, and teed up the coverage of the convention. Speculation was rampant and they gained control of the media waves for days. Senator Joe Biden would definitely attract white, blue-collar voters, an apparent vacuum that Obama had to fill to win the presidency. Whatever weaknesses Biden has may be fodder for the Republicans who would be pouncing on them soon. He has said a number of politically incorrect things over the years and, in the days following his selection those snippets would be aired again and again. Generally speaking, US voters are smart enough to forgive the genuine flaws of candidates, most observed.

But over the long haul, Biden provides what Obama needed most. He will also be getting a substantial catholic voter support. After serving in the world’s most pompous workplace, the Senator, Biden retained an ostentatiously unpretentious manner. He could be described an honest working class Democrat who has disdain for privilege and for limousine liberals, said one commentator. This year, Democrats in general, and Obama in particular, have trouble connecting with working-class voters, especially Catholic ones. Biden would be considered the bridge.

Labels: Elections, John McCain, Obama, USA

British elections: Brown's party routed in UK elections, loses London - by Tim Castle and Katherine Baldwin

"If the economic crisis continues through 2010, Brown's dead in the water," MORI pollster Robert Worcester told Reuters. The Conservatives, the once dominant party of Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill, were in buoyant mood after more than a decade in the political wilderness.They scored victories in the north of England where they have struggled and in Labour heartlands in Wales. Labor lost Reading council, its last remaining stronghold in the wealthy southeast of England.

Labels: Britain, Elections, EU, Gordon Brown, London, Politics

EU (plays politics)and cracks door for Serbia in advance of vote - by Stephen Castle and Dan Bilefski

With a fresh round of tight elections looming in Serbia, the European Union on Tuesday signed a pre-membership pact with Belgrade in a bid to help pro-Western forces avoid defeat by nationalists at the polls May 11. European ministers overcame sharp internal divisions over the Serbian government's failure to hunt down war crimes suspects and signed an agreement giving the clearest signal yet that Serbia can eventually join the 27-nation bloc.

The gesture could help turn the elections next month into a test of whether Serbia wants to join the EU - the world's largest trading bloc - or adopt a nationalist path more closely aligned with Moscow. Under a compromise among EU governments, Belgrade will not receive the benefits from the trade and assistance accord with the EU until it is judged to be cooperating fully with the United Nations war crimes tribunal.

Labels: Elections, EU, Serbia

Italian Poll Verdict - by Abdul Ruff

Italy is the fourth largest European economy and has one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe. The country's traditional manufacturing industries suffered a downturn during the final years of the twentieth century, but there have recently been some signs that the economy is beginning to recover from its decade-long slump. Italy's economy has been slipping in the face of low productivity and a strong euro, and analysts say young people, pensioners and low-income workers are feeling the pressure. Although Italy faces a massive public debt, both candidates have promised tax cuts and handouts to voters. The extent of Italy's malaise was made clear only a week before the ballot, when the IMF cut its growth forecast for the country to 0.3% for both 2008 and 2009. That would make Italy's the slowest-growing economy in Europe and among the G8 rich countries. In 2006 it was overtaken by Spain and next year it may fall behind Greece.

The Italian political landscape underwent a seismic shift in the 1990s when the "Clean Hands" operation exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and big business. Several former prime ministers were implicated and thousands of businessmen and politicians were investigated. In the mid-1990s its GDP per head, at purchasing-power parity, was 20% above the average for the 27 countries in today's European Union. It was richer than Britain and France, and second to Germany among big EU states. Twelve years on, it has fallen below the EU 27 average for the first time.

There are some reasons for hope, though. Italy's employment performance is good: joblessness is at a 30-year low. Exports have been booming, despite the strong euro. Italy's banks have improved under the spur of competition, and they have mostly avoided the sub-prime debt that is dragging down rivals in Europe.

Labels: Elections, EU, Italy

Outrage over Berlusconi remarks on immigration

Italy’s Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi was running true to form on Tuesday as he basked in his overwhelming victory in the general elections held earlier this week. By declaring that illegal immigrants are “an army of evil” he gave Italians a taste of things to come. There has been a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in Italy, especially towards people coming from Romania, Albania, Kosovo, and other parts of the Balkans, with attempts to repatriate Roma gypsies often described as “liars and thieves.” In a long press conference, Mr. Berlusconi brushed off criticism that he would be putty in the hands of his key coalition partner Umberto Bossi of the Northern League who has been calling for the break-up of Italy into three distinct federal regions so that the wealthy north no longer has to subsidize the poor south. However, he did say he would “increase neighbourhood police forces who would place themselves between the people of Italy and the army of evil.” Mr. Berlusconi’s remarks caused tremendous outrage and prompted Walter Veltroni of the Democratic Party who lost the election to remark: “I am horrified by his statements so far. His words do not add up to a good start.”

Note EU-Digest: Silvio Berlusconi is the worst possible choice for Italy at this stage of its history. It is sinking under a huge public debt, the heaviest tax burden in the euro zone, and the fastest aging workforce. Mr. Berlusconi probably realizes that the premier in a country with a 900-odd member parliament and numerous parties holds virtually no executive power. "He has no more projects," says Mr. Ferrara, an old fan. "He has no delusions. He has become very cynical. Italy is so hard to rule that Berlusconi probably figures, 'I won't try anything, I will go with the mainstream and give Italians what they want, shelter from competition, the tax man and most of all, "precariousness" of any kind". Italy today is like "a person on life support" and its re-elected leader Berlusconi provides no hope for change. Italy's problems and the election of Berlusconi prompted comedian Beppe Grillo to joke: "Please, invade us. Help us!"

Labels: Berlusconi, Elections, EU, Italy

EU's first president could earn 270,000 euros a year

The EU's first president could earn 270,000 euros ($427,000) and potential perks include a housing allowance, car and some 22 staff, Belgian media reported on Tuesday. EU ambassadors to Brussels have already started discussing the terms and conditions of the new post, as well as the job description and the proposed role the head of the 27-member organization will have. Suggestions have been made that the post could be purely administrative or the president could act as the organization's fully-fledged envoy. The introduction of the EU president post is part of the Lisbon Treaty, signed late last year, which states the EU president should be elected by European leaders for a term of two and a half years and will represent Europe on the international arena. The Lisbon Treaty is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2009 after ratification by parliaments in all EU member-countries, except Ireland, which is preparing to hold a referendum.

Note EU-Digest: EU Citizens need to be able to elect the President they have, not get someone like Tony Blair shoved into their shoes.

Labels: Elections, EU, EU CONSTITUTION, President

Berlusconi Wins Italian Election, Set for Third Term (Italians vote in favor of self-destructions) - by Steve Scherer and Flavia Krause-Jackson)

Billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi won a majority in both houses of the Italian parliament and will return to power for a third term as premier. Berlusconi's People of Liberty party and its allies took 166 seats in the Senate, the upper house, to 138 for Walter Veltroni's Democratic Party and its partner, according to a projection by RAI state television. In the Chamber of Deputies, Berlusconi took 45.9 percent of the vote compared with Veltroni's 38.9 percent, RAI estimated. That would give Berlusconi about 340 lower-house seats out of 630. ``Berlusconi is back,'' said Maurizio Pessato, chief executive officer of polling company SWG Srl in Trieste, Italy. ``With this result, he can last.''

Note EU-Digest: The question might not be if he can last, but if the Italians can survive? Italy deserves better.

Labels: Berlusconi, Elections, Italy

Walter Veltroni: projecting Italy as the 'hub' of neoliberal Europe

Walter Veltroni is the main centre-left challenger to Berlusconi in Italy’s general election. As leader of the Democratic Party, he rejects local and social movement campaigns in territorial autonomy and favours making Italy a military and industrial ‘hub’, writes Enzo Mangini .

Ten pillars, twelve actions to be implemented immediately, and a green bus to spread the word traveling across Italy’s 110 provinces – these are the numbers behind the electoral campaign of Walter Veltroni, former mayor of Rome and leader of the recently formed Democratic Party (Partito Democratico, PD). Veltroni is challenging Silvio Berlusconi in the general election of 13 and 14 April. After the fall of Romano Prodi’s centre-left coalition, Veltroni has led an aggressive campaign to erode the allegedly enormous lead that Berlusconi started with in opinion polls. To do so, Veltroni chose to shrink the ponderous 280-page programme which Prodi’s coalition presented to voters two years ago to a mere 20-page folder, available in slides on PD’s appealing website.

Labels: Elections, EU, Italy, Veltroni

Rome's centre-left mayor - to become Italy's next prime minister has sparked strong interest both at home and in wider Europe, but polls and analysts suggest that media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi has a higher chance of winning and achieving a third-time comeback as leader of the EU's fourth largest country.

Mr Prodi, a former European Commission president, lost a confidence vote mainly due to internal struggles in his nine-party ruling coalition and protests by small coalition parties against changes in election laws. While Mr Prodi managed to cut the country's budgetary deficit from 4.4 percent of GDP in 2006 to 2.4 percent in 2007, Italy is still struggling with its enormous public debt which remains bigger than its gross domestic product. The gloomy economic outlook of the country has been a key factor in the current campaign, with EU economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia stressing recently that a health-check of Italy's public finances "must be one of the objectives of all of the candidates taking part in the elections."

Mr Berlusconi (71) lost the 2006 elections overwhelmingly due to dissatisfaction among voters with his economic performance. Despite referring to himself as a champion of free markets and holding a comfortable majority in parliament, he failed to fully liberate Italy's rigid pension and social system.

Viewed as a relative youngster by Italian political standards, Mr Veltroni is trying to inspire young voters, as well as the around 30 percent of the electorate that remains undecided. He has been campaigning under an Italian version of "Yes, we can" – the slogan of Barack Obama, a front-runner Democrat candidate for the US presidency elections. Mr Veltroni promises to boost Italy's economy and transparency over public affairs.

Labels: Elections, EU, Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, Veltroni

Municipal French Elections Appear to Rebuke Sarkozy - Molly Moore and Corinne Gavard

Preliminary voting returns and exit polls indicated that Socialist candidates were outpolling members of Sarkozy's ruling Union for a Popular Movement for mayoral seats in key towns and were easily maintaining their power bases in Paris and Lyon, the country's third-largest city. Nine months after his inauguration as president, Sarkozy has become such a liability to his own party that most candidates from his party shunned his support in their campaigns and some stripped the governing party's labels from their Internet sites and campaign literature. Socialist leader Francois Hollande said voters Sunday sent "a warning to the president of the republic and the government on the policies conducted over the past nine months."

Labels: Elections, France, Sarkozy

Socialists of Prime Minister Jose Zapatero'win Spanish elections

Spanish state television said Prime Minister Jose Zapatero's party had won 172-176 seats in the 350-seat lower house, while the conservative opposition Popular Party won 148-152 seats. Other polls say the Socialists have won as many as 178, passing the 176-seat threshold needed for an absolute majority. That would spell the end of the hung parliament that has forced them to court smaller parties to pass laws.

Labels: Elections, EU, Jose Zapatero, Spain

Economy holds strong ahead of Spain election - by Marian Hens

Spain boasts the world's eighth largest economy with a yearly growth of 3.75%, double the European average. The country has a modern and solid banking sector, has been running budget surpluses and created around 600,000 jobs each year, reducing unemployment from 25% in 1994 to a staggering 8.6%.

"Spain's extraordinary economic growth over the last 14 years is the result of a combination of exceptional circumstances, such as cheap credit, vast amounts of EU funds, and a booming housing market", says Miguel Angel García, co-author of the report The Spanish Economy in 2008, published by CCOO, one of the country's main trade unions. The election is expected to be very close.

Labels: Elections, EU, Spain

Medvedev wins landslide in Russian election: early results

Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor, won a landslide victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday, early results showed, as opponents charged the result was rigged. Medvedev -- a 42-year-old bureaucrat who says he will name Putin prime minister -- had 66.5 percent of the vote, according to the early figures. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov was in second place with 19 percent, the Central Elections Commission said after counting ballots from a third of polling stations. Nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got 11.7 percent and the almost unknown Andrei Bogdanov 1.46 percent. Exit polls also predicted a crushing Medvedev victory.

Independent observers highlighted a stream of violations, however, saying the media was censored, people were pressured to vote, absentee ballots were abused, and monitors were refused access to polling stations.

Labels: Elections, Medvedev, Russia

Spain's Zapatero leads in Polls

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero outperformed People’s Party leader Mariano Rajoy in a televised debate, the first in 15 years in Spain, with less than two weeks before voters decide which of them will lead the next government, polls show . Four polls after the debate showed viewers thought Zapatero did better by margins of between 3,5 percentage points and 16 percentage points. The 90-minute encounter that finished at midnight on Monday was seen by more than 13-million people, almost a third of the population.

Unlike recent political debates among presidential candidates in the US, the two rivals did not couch their criticism with any praise for the other’s integrity or record.

Labels: Elections, EU, Spain

Raúl Castro Elected President of Cuba

Cuba´s National Assembly of People´s Power today elected Raul Castro Ruz as president of the Council of State for the next five years.

For the video report from liveLeak "Who is Raoul Castro click on this link

Labels: Cuba, Elections, Raul Castro

Silvio Berlusconi does not deserve another chance of power in Italy - by Brownwen Maddox

The prospect should be unthinkable, but polls suggest that Italians may pick Silvio Berlusconi for a third stint as prime minister in their quest for a government. Leave aside the conflict of interest with his media and business empire, and his amendment, while in office, of laws on penal justice that helped him to sidestep charges of false accounting. Leave aside, too, for a moment, his reform of the electoral laws that has returned Italy to the days of splintering governments that cannot withstand the strain of difficult decisions for much more than a year. But even considering his record in office, there is not enough to warrant a return. If people want to attempt a justification, they point to two slivers of reform on pensions and employment. That is all they can do, because there are no other cases where Berlusconi clearly acted for Italy's benefit rather than his own.

Labels: Crime, Elections, EU, Italy, Silvio Berlusconi

Castro - a political icon resigns

For the complete report from the BBC click on this link

End of Castro's half century in power - by Michael Voss

The news that Fidel Castro is stepping down as president after almost 50 years in power came in the middle of the night, through the online edition of the official Communist party newspaper Granma.

Under the headline "Message from the Commander in Chief", the 81-year-old revolutionary leader wrote: "I will not aspire to nor accept - I repeat, I will not aspire to nor accept - the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief." This effectively marks the end of an era. Mr Castro has ruled this Caribbean island since the revolution in 1959. Most Cubans have known no other leader or system, with more than 70% of the population born after the revolution.

Mr Castro pursued an egalitarian society, with free health-care and education. Mr Castro handed temporary power to his brother Raul a year-and-a-half ago after undergoing emergency surgery. A year-and-a-half later and Raul Castro appears to be firmly in control. But in a keynote speech last year Raul Castro told the nation that "structural and conceptual" changes were needed to get the island's faltering economy back on its feet. All of this has raised widespread expectations that major economic changes at least are on the way. In recent months Raul Castro has initiated a wide-sweeping internal debate over what changes people want to see.

Andrew Johnston from Leeds in the UK writes: "Castro led a regime that successfully looked after the basic needs of its people for 50 years, and he did it in the face of an American embargo. When one looks at the sorry state of the other countries in 'America's back-yard' one can only salute a man who was able to look after his own in defiance of the world's greatest military super-power. One of the last towering giants of politics will be lamented in this age of clown Prime Ministers and buffoon Presidents".

Labels: Cuba, Elections, Fidel Castro, Political

Northern Cyprus - Nicosia presently divided

For the complete report from the EurasiaNet click on this link

Cyprus Vote: Big Ramifications for Turkey's EU Bid and NATO's Operational Capacity

The future of Turkey’s European Union bid could hinge on the February 17 presidential election in Cyprus. The prospect of a new Greek Cypriot leadership may offer the last chance for uniting the divided island, analysts say. Permanent division, experts add, would create a lasting source of political tension that not only could prevent Turkey’s EU accession, but also hamper the EU’s and NATO’s strategic capabilities. "The results of the election will be important, if we are going to have a move forward," says Philippos Savvides, Greek Cypriot political analyst based in Athens. Brussels is set to review progress on Turkey’s membership bid in 2009, leaving this year as the only window of opportunity to make headway on the Cyprus issue, Savvides says. "It will be a mess if we don’t have a resolution."

Cyprus has been split since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island’s northern part to safeguard its Turkish Cypriot community, which comprised some 20 percent of the total population. With United Nations peacekeepers monitoring a ceasefire line separating the island’s Greek and Turkish parts, the Cyprus issue has made little progress toward reunification over the decades. There was some hope for a resolution in 2004, when Turkey signed on to the United Nations-brokered Annan plan, which called for Ankara to withdraw its troops, and Cyprus to be reunited. The new Cyprus would have been comprised of two confederal states, one Greek and one Turkish, with a loose central government.

Note EU-Digest: The UN plan for reunification could be back on the table after hardliner Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos was eliminated in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday, meaning a surprise run-off between two candidates who both want talks on re-uniting the island. The vote is key to efforts to bring back together the war-divided Mediterranean island and to Turkey's European Union aspirations. Analysts said Papadopoulos's elimination signaled Greek Cypriots are ready to return to the negotiation table. Right wing backed Ioannis Kassoulides and Communist Demetris Christofias have already pledged a more conciliatory approach to estranged Turkish Cypriots, who have lived separately since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. With all the vote counted, Kassoulides had 33.5 percent, Christofias 33.3 percent and Papadopoulos only 31.8 percent. The run-off will be on February 24.

Labels: Cyprus, Elections, EU, Turkey

Abortion emerges as election issue in Italy

The emotive subject of abortion has emerged as an election issue ahead of Italy's vote on April the 13th. The high profile journalist Giuliano Ferrara has announced plans to run for election on a single-issue, pro-life ticket. On Monday, would-be centre-right Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi endorsed Ferrara's call for a UN moratorium on terminations, but stopped short of backing an alliance with his new party. Ferrara's comments have also been endorsed by top Catholic officials in the Vatican. Centre-left politicians, meanwhile, have roundly condemned Ferrara's campaign as an attack on women's rights. Former Minister Rosy Bindi, a Catholic member of the Democratic Party, confirmed her personal opposition to abortion but said the issue had no place in an election campaign.

Labels: Elections, Italy

US Pres. elections Republicans Root for Obama who is not the underdog anymore - by Fred Barnes

Republicans and Barack Obama are far apart ideologically, but they have a common enemy: Hillary Clinton. This explains why many Republicans look kindly on Obama's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Republicans have two goals in the 2008 race. One is to retain the presidency. The other is to deny the Clintons--Hillary and Bill--another four (or eight) years in the White House.Barack Obama is the underdog no more.

The 46-year-old Illinois senator handed rival Hillary Clinton three more humbling defeats Tuesday night in the Democratic presidential race, winning easy victories in the so-called "Potomac primaries" in the U.S. capital region. Obama handily beat Clinton to win the Democratic primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. He won almost 75 per cent of the vote in D.C. and almost two thirds in Virginia, a state with a large population of military personnel and government workers that was once considered fertile political ground for Clinton.

Even before the votes were tallied on Tuesday, Clinton already was looking ahead to another set of primaries in Ohio and Texas. She held a rally Tuesday night in El Paso. "I think just the fact that Barack Obama is in this place where Hillary Clinton has skedaddled out of town and is down in Texas, already just saying goodbye to these (Potomac) primaries, is a remarkable situation," said Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, an Obama supporter. "It's a remarkable statement." Clinton's campaign has also begun planning for yet another major showdown with Obama on April 22 in Pennsylvania.

Labels: Elections, Hillary Clinton, Obama

Italy- the Italian Obama - Send for Mr Nice Guy - by Rosemary Righter

Two years ago, an impressive 83 per cent of Italian voters turned out in an election that neither Silvio Berlusconi nor Romano Prodi deserved to win. Italy's choice lay between a sleek snake-oil merchant who had done culpably little with a record five years in power, and a rumpled political cobbler whose chances of getting anything done at all were slight. So here again is Il Cavaliere Silvio, back in the running for the third time and lengths ahead of Walter Veltroni, the centre-left horse in this race. Yet the finish could be close. What is new is that Mr Veltroni has understood one big thing about Silvio's appeal: that he stands out from the rest of the pack. And he is attempting to steal his act.

Mr Veltroni, whose day job is Mayor of Rome, is the leader of a “new” Democratic Party, forged last autumn by merging his Margarita Party with the ex-communist Democrats of the Left. The DP, he now says, will break with the idea of coalition, fighting this election alone. This is being greeted as a big gamble, which suits Mr Veltroni just fine, but is actually cold calculation. There was no way to market the same old squabbling bunch as an attractive new team. Besides, polls show that more voters would back the DP if it cut loose from the hard Left. Mr Veltroni goes farther: what he is selling is himself. And a most marketable commodity he is.

“SuperWalter” is everything that Il Cavaliere is not, all bella figura (socially accomplished) to Silvio's brutta figura (can't take the man anywhere). A writer and film buff, he has been dubbed Buonismo, roughly translatable as Mr Nice Guy. He is a luvvie's dream candidate who has put Rome back on the cultural map. He entered politics as a communist (even editing L'Unità, the party paper), but morphed seamlessly into an admirer of the Kennedys. His new model? Barack Obama. He has even echoed Obama's slogan, “Yes we can”, and talks about “turning the page” and “the end of an era of brawls and hatred”. His pitch is that Mr Berlusconi, 71, is the man of the past who disappointed everybody, and that he, a mere 52, is the man of “renewal” . But he says it politely.

Labels: Elections, Italy, Walter Veltroni

Germany's Merkel dealt setback in state vote - by Madeleine Chambers

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives suffered heavy losses in an election in the western state of Hesse on Sunday, dealing her a blow ahead of next year's national vote. Long-time Hesse Premier and Merkel ally Roland Koch had run a bitterly divisive campaign advocating crackdowns on foreign criminals which was backed by the chancellor but ultimately backfired. His Christian Democrats (CDU) took 36.6 percent of the vote, down sharply from the 49 percent they scored in the last Hesse election in 2003, and a shade behind the rival Social Democrats (SPD) at 36.9 percent, preliminary results showed

Labels: Angela Merkel, Elections, EU, Germany

Spain: Zapatero's bear fight

The surprise ingredient in the Spanish election of March 2004 was the Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 commuters just three days before the vote. Thanks to the clumsiness of the outgoing People's Party (PP) government, which tried to blame Basque terrorists, not Islamist radicals, the bombs provoked an unexpected change. What had looked like a PP shoo-in turned into a Socialist bounce-back, handing victory to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, now Spain's prime minister. Four years on, Mr Zapatero is seeking re-election. This time, too, a surprise ingredient has arrived ahead of the March 9th poll. But, despite the recent arrest in Barcelona of 14 Muslim immigrants suspected of planning fresh attacks, it has nothing to do with Islam. After four years in which Spain's politicians have argued bitterly about almost everything else, the new ingredient is the economy.

Few would have predicted this even six months ago. An economy growing at a healthy lick of 3.8% seemed to be one of the strongest of Mr Zapatero's weapons. But since then Spain's housing bubble has burst and inflation has risen. Global financial turmoil now threatens to turn a hoped-for soft landing into something much harder.

Labels: Elections, EU, Spain, Zapatero

US elections: If McCain is the Republican Candidate he can beat Obama and Hillary

Republican John McCain holds a small advantage over Democrat Barack Obama in a prospective 2008 United States presidential contest, according to a poll by Zogby International released by Reuters. 45 per cent of respondents would vote for the Arizona senator, while 43 per cent would back the Illinois senator. Support for McCain in this match-up increased by two points since December, while backing for Obama fell by four points. In another match-up, McCain holds a five-point lead over New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Labels: Elections, US

Mr Musharraf held talks in Brussels with Javier Solana, the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, who said he had stressed the EU’s desire that Pakistan should “move forward on a path of reform and the rule of law”. With European countries contributing more than half of the 41,700-strong international force conducting military operations against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, the EU has a strong interest in seeing a decline of political violence and unrest in neighbouring Pakistan.EU's engagement with Pakistan depends on fair polls says Solana

The level of the European Union's engagement with Pakistan depends on the holding of free, fair and secure elections there next month, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday. "Our message is clear. It is that the elections have to be fair, free and secure, which is also very important," Solana said after lunch talks in Brussels with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. "Our reaction on cooperation and the level of engagement will be in view of the result of the process," he added. He did not give any details as to what that cooperation may entail.The EU is Pakistan’s largest foreign trading partner, with annual trade worth euro 6.25bn, and Mr Musharraf said he had raised the issue of easier access for Pakistan to EU markets. Later on his European trip, Mr Musharraf is due to meet Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, and Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, as well as to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Labels: Elections, EU, Pakistan

Ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic wins Serbian election

Preliminary results from Serbia's presidential elections indicate a victory for the ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic. The partial results give Mr Nikolic 39.4 percent against 35.4 percent for the incumbent Boris Tadic. As neither candidate won a majority, a second round of voting will be held in two weeks time. The seven other candidates did not win enough votes to play a role in the election. A record number of Serbians cast their ballot in today's vote. Around 60 percent of the 6.7 million eligible voters went to the poll, the highest percentage since the 2000 democratic revolution. The vote is seen as crucial for the Balkan state's future. Both candidates oppose independence for Kosovo but Mr Nikolic favours closer ties with Russia and is opposed to NATO, the US and the European Union while Mr Tadic wants Serbia to join the EU.

Note EU-Digest: this spells big troubles for the stability in the Balkan region.

Labels: Elections, EU, Serbia

Tough questions await Musharraf in Europe

President Pervez Musharraf heads off on a four-country trip to Europe this weekend where he is expected to face tough questions over his rule while shoring up international support. Former foreign secretary Tanvir Ahmed Khan expected Musharraf to seek to impress on Europeans that Pakistan’s best hope of stability rested with him retaining power. “He’s trying to establish his credentials with key Western powers with the same old message: that he’s indispensable, they don’t have a better friend than him, without him the war on terror would unravel and Pakistan’s economic progress would collapse,” Khan said. Musharraf is due to hold talks with European Union and Belgian leaders in Brussels, meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris and then attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland before heading to London for talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Labels: Elections, EU, Musharraf, Pakistan

Serbia bans US and British election monitors - by Vesna Peric Zimonjic in Belgrade - by Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Serbia's electoral commission has barred US and British observers from monitoring its presidential elections in protest over the countries' support for Kosovan independence. A member of the commission from the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Slavoljub Milenkovic, said yesterday that the US and Britain would be prevented from sending monitors for the 20 January elections "because their countries want to destroy us and grab Kosovo away from Serbia". The US and most EU nations back independence for Kosovo, which is populated by some two million ethnic Albanians. It has been run by the UN since 1999, when a Nato bombing campaign forced Belgrade to end its crackdown on an armed insurgency of Kosovan Albanians. After more than two years of internationally sponsored negotiations, Serbia, backed by Russia, still fiercely opposes the imminent independence of Kosovo and has refused any solution other than broad autonomy.

Labels: Elections, EU, Serbia

US Elections: The Press should stop pimping prejudice

"Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?", that was the headline of a Maureen Dowd column in the New York Times. Big media is perverting the US democratic process. The sexist coverage of Clinton's tears was prejudicial and beyond the pale. The Press must be told to knock it off. Hillary Clinton's win in New Hampshire was incredible. The performance of the press corps in the last couple of days, unfortunately, was not. Journalists have been replaced by a punditocracy that makes its living (and gets its kicks) by perverting the US democratic process. The misogyny that was unleashed by the media's feeding frenzy on the video of an exhausted Clinton tearing up at a small New Hampshire round-table of voters was just the tip of the iceberg.

Whether we agree or not with Clinton on the issues, the assault on her candidacy based on gender is unacceptable. So too is biased and uninformed commentary on the minority status of other candidates (Obama's ethnicity, Romney's religion, or McCain's age, to name just three). To be clear, we are not endorsing any candidate. This is not about who the US Citizens choose for president, but rather how they choose their next leader. Voting based on sexist logic propagated by corporate media monopolies is no way to select a candidate. The US is at a critical juncture. A sober citizenry must make informed decisions about who will lead the US in addressing more crises than any previous generation has faced: global warming, unending war in Iraq, and multiple constitutional crises.

Labels: Elections, Press, US

Europe discovers the 'son of Kenyan goatherd' - by Doug Saunders

In the European primaries this weekend, 400 million people headed to the polls and selected Barack Obama as their candidate for the next president of the United States. Or so it would appear if you crossed Europe looking at the front pages and TV screens of the major capitals. Mr. Obama's face was everywhere, blanking out Nicolas Sarkozy's love affair, the Pope's proclamations, even Britain's soccer scandals. Across the continent, there was a collective sense of astonishment and novelty from audiences accustomed to viewing the United States through a monochromatic and often very angry lens. "Race reshaped by the son of Kenyan goatherd," said the Times, which, along with fellow London newspapers the Telegraph, The Independent and The Guardian, featured large photos of Mr. Obama on the top of the front page and ran multipage spreads on him inside.

Labels: Elections, EU, Obama, US

Mr Obama fails to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman

Fresh doubts over Barack Obama’s foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America.Yesterday they underlined this message by pointing to reports showing that Mr Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman. There was also strikingly robust criticism from an independent Washington think-tank about a “disconcerting void” over transatlantic relations in Mr Obama’s foreign policy, as well as from a former British Minister for Europe.Steve Clemons, the director of foreign policy at the New American Foundation in Washington said, “Someone who is seeking the presidency should have some facility for the most important anchor in global affairs, which is the transatlantic relationship,” he said. “The major threats in the 21st century are changing but what is not changing is the vital necessity of Europe and the US collaborating in meeting those challenges with Europe, for instance, in the lead on dealing with Iran. This is a very disconcerting void in Obama’s profile.”

Labels: Elections, Europe, Obama, US

Georgia's Saakashvili wins re-election - by Roman Olearchyk, Catherine Belton,Stefan Wagstyl

Mikhail Saakashvili was re-elected as Georgia's president with 52.8 per cent of the vote, election officials said on Sunday night. The results threatened to inflame tensions in the former Soviet republic, where the opposition has accused his government of falsifying the vote. His main contender, Levan Gachechiladze, received 27 per cent of the ballots in Saturday's election, said Levan Tarkhnishvili, head of the Central Election Commission. Mr Tarkhnishvili said the tally was based on results from nearly all precincts in Georgia, excluding Georgian military personnel serving in peacekeeping operation in Kosovo and Iraq.

Labels: Elections, Georgia, Saakashvili

In two best-selling autobiographies—"The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" and "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance"—Mr. Obama, born in Honolulu where his parents met, mentions but does not expand on his Muslim background, alluding only to his attendance at a "predominantly Muslim school." His father was black and came from Kenya. Mr. Obama’s mother, the daughter of a farmer, came from Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Obama's parents divorced when he was two years old. His father returned to Kenya. Later, Mr. Obama's mother married an Indonesian student and the famil